Ground was broken for the new Toronto Premium Outlets centre in Halton Hills Wednesday morning and construction is set to begin immediately.

Owners of the mall— Calloway REIT and Simon Property Group— are hoping Ontario shoppers who regularly head across the border to shop the U.S. outlet stores will instead make the trek to the new mall slated to open next summer.

Representatives from Calloway REIT, Simon Property Group, developer partner SmartCentres, local politicians, town and region staff and others working on the project were on hand at the property located at Hwy. 401 and Trafalgar Rd. for the groundbreaking ceremony.

“This is the first upscale outlet mall to be developed in Ontario, and Canada for that matter,” said Josh Kaufman, Vice-President of Development for SmartCentres, the developer partner of the mall.

He called the outlet centre a “true collaboration of the greatest development minds within the public and private realm.”

It will allow shoppers to buy direct from a collection of fashion designers and name brand manufacturers. The first phase will be 360,000 sq. ft. housing approximately 100 outlet stores, ranging in size from 600 sq. ft. to 25,000 sq. ft. and offering savings of 25 to 65 per cent.

There will be a mix of product categories including apparel and shoes, fashion accessories, leather goods, home furnishings and specialty items.

“The Ontario shopper now has a reason to keep its outlet mall shopping dollars on this side of the border,” said Kaufman. “It will include the best U.S. and Canadian fashion apparel brands offered and, in some cases, for the first time in Canada.”

The names of retailers in the centre weren’t released except for one.

John Klein, president of Toronto Premium Outlets, said Hudson Bay Trading Co. owned by NRDC, will be opening a Bay outlet in the centre— it’s first “designer outlet prototype in the country.”

The unenclosed centre with entrances off Trafalgar Rd. and Steeles Ave. will have a single-level village-style setting with outdoor pedestrian courtyards that will provide sufficient coverage for all-weather shopping. It will be a racetrack design meaning the stores will be in the centre surrounded by parking and feature several landscaping and natural elements and a centrally located food court. In total, there will be four entrances to the mall— a right turn only from Trafalgar Rd. N., a right turn only for eastbound Steeles Ave. traffic and two full access entrances from Steeles (one at Eighth Line and another just west of Eighth Line. Both those entrances will be controlled by traffic lights.)

Preliminary work has already begun on widening Steeles Avenue.

The centre is expected to provide 500 construction jobs and, once opened, 800 to 1,000 permanent full and part-time jobs.

And Halton Hills residents may get first crack at some of those jobs.

“I’m pleased to confirm when hiring for permanent positions they will be sponsoring a job fair in Halton Hills so Halton Hills residents will have the first opportunity to get some of the jobs,” said Mayor Rick Bonnette.

“Premium Outlets are more than just key spots for bargain hunters, they represent destinations for people who appreciate fashion and those who want a taste of luxury without the traditional luxury price tags,” said Calloway CEO and President Al Mawani who thanked Bonnette, Regional Chair Gary Carr and Town and Region staff for working hard to make the centre possible.

“At Calloway we’re excited to see this come to fruition,” said Mawani.

Klein said Premium Outlet Centres are “known to thousands of Canadians” as there are 57 of them in the U.S., and others in Japan, Mexico, Korea, Puerto Rico and Malaysia.

He said the facility will draw shoppers, not just from the GTA, but from all over Canada and international tourists.

Kaufman had high praise for and thanked Town of Halton Hills and Halton Region staff, the mayor, whom he called “the man of the hour,” and Carr, who have been working as a team to make this centre a reality in Halton Hills.

“The economic benefits will be felt throughout Halton Hills, Halton and the GTA,” said Bonnette. “Shoppers will have that option of buying brand names at factory outlet prices without having to go to the lineups (at the border) and keeping the Canadian dollars here in Canada.”

Bonnette, called it an “exciting day” and thanked Town staff for their hard work He said it’s been an 18-month process to bring the outlet mall to fruition.

“We’re going to do all we can to make you successful,” said Carr, adding the taxes paid by the mall are an “added benefit for us and we will put them to good use.”

Outlet mall fast facts

Toronto Premium Outlets

• Bordered by Highway 401, Trafalgar Rd and Steeles Avenue

• Set to open summer 2013

• Unenclosed

• Will have 500,000 sq. ft. of leasable area

• Stores will range in size from 600 to 25,000 sq. ft.

• Projected to generate over $140 million annually in retail sales

• Expected to create more than 500 construction jobs

• Projected to provide more than 800 permanent part-time jobs

• Expected to generate annual sales tax revenue of approximately $18 million